Shirley Chisholm: The First Black Congresswoman

November 5th 1968 was the day Shirley Chisholm was elected to represent New York’s 12th District, becoming the first black woman elected to Congress. She maintained that seat for 7 terms, ending in 1983.

In 1969, Chisholm became one of the founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus. She then went on to become the first African American to make a bid to become President of the United States — running for a Democratic nomination in 1972.

In 2004 she said about her legacy, “I want history to remember me not just as the first black woman to be elected to Congress, not as the first black woman to have made a bid for the presidency of the United States, but as a black woman who lived in the 20th century and dared to be herself.”

Chisholm died in 2005.

Source: The Huffington Post

Shirley Chisholm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1st black female member of Congress, Shirley Chisholm, holding up two fingers in victory sign while standing behind large American flag following her successful run for office.

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